First of the Summer Wine

So, we're well into the campaign now - anybody bored yet? Even self-confessed political geek Iain Dale admits to a little ennui at this stage!

First, let's pause for some music.

Right, having got that feeble topical joke out of the way... the Leaders' Debate - aka the Compo, Clegg and Foggy show - has certainly kicked things into touch.

Gordon Brown, thanks to being the most experienced man on the podium, seemed relaxed, perhaps to the point of not being engaged enough.

David Cameron was oddly lacking in fire and a little "rabbit in the headlights" at times.

Much has been made, of course, of Nick Clegg's sterling performance and his party's subsequent amazing poll boost - but will it last? And if it does, will he still get away with addressing the audience directly down the camera, as if giving a Party Political Broadcast?

That seemed quite odd, as did the lack of any rough-and-tumble engagement from the audience. Of course, scrupulous election-period broadcasting regulations meant that this debate could not be conducted like an edition of Question Time, sadly.

So, what will the next week bring? Will the Lib Dems continue to lead the fray? Can the Conservatives rescue their ailing campaign? Will Labour capitalise on the knowledge that, with the parties as tight as they are in the polls, they could end up with the lowest share of the popular vote and yet the most seats? Will volcanic ash cover everyone and stop any politicians getting out on the road? One thing's for sure - anybody getting an overall majority is looking a little doubtful now...

Soft Soapbox?

Well, the date may not have been announced yet but the election is as good as in mid-campaign.

In 1992, John Major won the election unexpectedly, a win which some commentators attributed in part to the "honest John, man of the people" image he cultivated by going up and down the country doing no-frills speeches on a soapbox (actually a reinforced crate), dealing with hecklers and letting a crowd gather around him - in contrast to the now-infamous, legendary bombast of Neil Kinnock's Sheffield rally.

David Cameron, anxious to shake off the aura of 'poshness' which he openly fears will cost him votes, has been doing the "blokey" bit which Blair seemed superficially to do well.

Shirt sleeves, questions in the round, almost a dropped aitch or two - all present and correct in his encounter with the Lewisham College students. He was heckled, and dealt with it well - but surely any politician should be able to do this. It seemed informal and casual, and he made the point that the questioners were not pre-picked - although that's not to say the session wasn't very carefully planned. The students were polite, but took him to task. Many of them looked bored, while a good many of them seemed attentive. He was at least trying. Cameron gives the impression of answering questions, of saying, "well, this is what I believe, even if you disagree with me," and then quickly moving on to the next questioner. It could be an effective tactic.

Cameron came out of it well, but more for the presentation than for the substance of policy. It's quite sad that we find it refreshing, even grudgingly, that a politician can get among the people and answer questions in this way. Surely this should be the norm? The most interesting thing about the whole exchange was his comment that "this is what you're going to get from me." There is more of this to come.

It may not quite have been a "soapbox moment", but he gave the impression of coming clean. It remains to be seen if it'll wash.

X Marks the Box ebook giveaway ends

Thank you very much for downloading to everyone who has downloaded the free ebook of X Marks the Box.

The giveaway has finished now and after only three weeks we’ve had more than 8,300 downloads which is fantastic. I very much hope you’ve enjoyed the book and that it’s helped you think about how politics really affects you – writing the book certainly helped shape my opinions. If you’d like to read the book in the old-fashioned paper format we have a special offer running with Waterstones and the links are below. So all that remains to do now, when the election finally comes, is to VOTE!

The print edition is published today and available at 40% off at Waterstones – only £4.79 – here.

The ebook version is now also for sale, also at 40% off at Waterstones, here.

Please keep up with everything X Marks the Box-related at book’s Facebook page here.

Getting with the Times

X Marks The Box is pleased to announce that the Times Online will be doing a live chat with Daniel Blythe from 1-2pm today (Wednesday). Come along and ask some searching questions.

Link here.

The last day of the free ebook giveaway

Today is the last full day of the giveaway of the free ebook version of X Marks the Box.

At the time of writing this, almost 8200 people have downloaded the ebook since we launched three weeks ago.

Daniel Blythe will be doing a live Q&A session with The Times at 1pm today - sign up to be reminded a little while beforehand here.

And don't forget that the book will be in shops very shortly! If you've signed up for the free ebook you'll receive an email in the next couple of days including a special offer to buy the print edition at a reduced price - so keep a look out for that.

If you've any queries, questions or would like to ask Daniel something - become can of the book on Facebook and post your comments there. And if you know anyone who would like to read the free edition - let them know now before it's too late!

Follow My Leader...whoever he is...

It's said that if you show a picture of a high-profile Opposition spokesman like George Osborne or Chris Grayling to the person in the street, they'll have trouble identifying them. This could well be true. And if it's true of the second biggest party, the Tories, then just think what a problem the smaller parties have with 'recognition factor'.

The Liberal Democrats took a humorous approach to the problem a few years ago when they realised that they had just enough MPs for a pack of cards. Their current leader Nick Clegg is probably worrying in private about losing a few of his Aces to his fellow players next time round... (By the way, what is he doing in that photo? Fans of FlashForward will find it very disturbing indeed.)

What about the minority parties - the Greens and UKIP, for example? Would you know the leader of UKIP if he walked up to you in the street? Probably not. Fair enough, really, as Lord Pearson has not been as high profile as his, ahem, colourful predecessor Nigel Farage.

One person who doesn't know his name is a lady called Julia Gasper. Or at least, she didn't, live on air on BBC Radio Oxford this week. Fair enough, you may be saying. Not a lot of people would be able to name the leader of UKIP. Yes - but unfortunately, Ms Gasper is the UKIP Parliamentary Candidate for Oxford East in the forthcoming General Election. Each of the other candidates in the studio - Steve Goddard for the Liberal Democrats, Andrew Smith for Labour and Edward Argar for the Conservatives - did a decent job standing up for their respective bosses. But Ms Gasper, who had just corrected presenter Bill Heine for a slip of the tongue in which he referred to Nigel Farage as the current and not the former leader, sat in silence when challenged by Mr Heine to put everyone straight by giving her current leader's name. It was one of those awful, cringeworthy moments of radio. Ms Gasper ran out of laughter and sat in silence. One can be pretty sure that the other candidates in the studio knew the answer and probably almost wanted to help her out...

X Marks The Box imagines that a crash course awaits her at UKIP HQ this weekend.

February round-up

Thanks to everyone who has been downloading X Marks The Box. We have had over 6000 people doing so and it's good news that it has provoked such interest.

It's always good to see young people challenging the stereotype that they are apathetic. In many of the schools I've visited to talk about the book, I've met teenagers who are very interested in politics, certainly intend to vote and ask interesting questions. Such as: "Are people voting less because they are more apathetic, or because they are more content?" As they say - discuss! That sounds like an ideal candidate for one of those Clever Oxbridge Questions.

Another example is an article on The Periscope Post at the moment, written by Jennifer Lipman, who takes Obama's "yes we can" mantra as her starting point and applies it to British politics.

One answer given to people who say they are not happy with the candidates on offer is to become one themselves. But without a party political affiliation, how is this possible? The Independent Network is a non-profit organisation providing support to candidates who are not members of political parties, and is well worth a look. Supporters and endorsed candidates are asked to agree to the Bell Principles - a code of conduct for elected representatives formulated by Martin Bell OBE and the Independent Network. They also have a blog.

We are teetering ever closer towards the announcement of the election date. X Marks The Box will be here to monitor all the developments from the informed citizen's point of view - and of course to keep encouraging you to use your vote.